Retired soldier

Nice older guy who talked a lot about the history of Kaliningrad and pointed out nice old German buildings along the way. Also pointed out a military base, which we passed by and which was insanely secured (signaling strips, armed soldiers, razor wire fences, electric wire…). In the end he went out of his way to get me to the border crossing. He showed me his military ID as… (read on in Trip)

Insane Polish (ex)smuggler

Guy in a small Polish truck, who was going to Russia pretty much just to get cheaper gas. The crossing took a while because it was a Polish border obviously… We talked about everything and the guy kept mentioning that he used to work with the customs agents, which I didnt quite understand. Once we finally got to the Polish checkpoint, he was directed into the xray (for… (read on in Trip)

Russian marshrutka for free

I was all fresh after spending a perfect night in my tent on a sand dune overlooking the sea – it was a national park, so probably illegal AF… Walked through the forest back to the main road and after a fairly short wait a van pulled over and was going all the way to Kaliningrad, which was perfect, as I need to get all the way to Gdansk that way. It turned out to be a… (read on in Trip)

Russian couple

A nice Russian couple going all the way to Kaliningrad, who turned around to take me as they saw my "Rus" sign. They had their own car repair business and went shopping in Poland. We talked a bit about our countries and enjoyed a fairly reasonable wait at the border – while waiting, we met a bunch of Russian bikers and you could just see the joy and excitement in the drivers… (read on in Trip)

Family

Nice family, who was on a vacation up north and took me to Malbork.

Interesting guy

Interesting guy from Katowice, who worked in Krakow. Had a good conversation about corpo life and how he started to work for IBM back in the day. He some really interesting anecdotes and I really enjoyed talking to him.

Russian guys!

My heart skipped a beat when a Russian license plate pulled over, thinking they might be headed all the way to Kaliningrad, which would have been an awesome hitch from the outskirts of Katowice. They were not, but still pretty awesome. The guys were returning from a festival in Budapest to Moscow via Belarus and were headed to Czestochowa for the night. I really liked being… (read on in Trip)

Most amazing Polish pair

A Polish pair, who was just returning from helping out refugees in Serbia (or was it Greece?). He had a fanastic conversation and they were also hosting on CS. Offered me a place to stay as it was already dark at that point. but I wanted to get as far north on the autostrada as possible, so I declined and chose to get off at a gas station instead. The girl studied in China,… (read on in Trip)

Short wait at a gas station

After a day full of awesome rides, I was ready to get to Gdansk that night (which is crazy considering I'd started hitching after work, so at around 5pm). Asked pretty much like two people and the third said yes (also a bit hesitantly). It was a family traveling in two cars and towing another one. Didn't talk much, but were driving all the way to Gdansk! Nevertheless, their… (read on in Trip)

The first time I hitched a bus

So I was with a Polish couple, who I met earlier at Timna Park and we were going back to Eilat. This bus stopped (we were at a bus stop) and guy was on the phone. I approached thinking he stopped for us, which he didn't (he stopped to talk on the phone). We told him we were going to Eilat, so he decided to take us for free, as he was returning from a trip. Didn't speak much… (read on in Trip)

Ride to town with an accidental hhiker

I was going to probably take a bus, but decided to hitch anyway and pretty soon a cute Israeli girl pulled over. There was another girl at the stop who also asked if she could join and we both got a ride to Eilat from the border.

Airport security guard

The guy was a security guard at the new Eilat airport – he was one of the famous (or rather infamous) interviewers (or rather interrogators?), but he was nice and we talked a bit about his job. He d just flown in from Tel Aviv and was on his way to the construction site of the new airport.

Two German girls and hitching with a Polish couple

I finally got to Timna park, but unfortunately they didnt have bikes to rent out at the entrance. I was with a Polish couple, who Id met shortly before, so we decided to hitch to the last station and borrow the bikes there. Two German girls took us, but it was a fairly short ride.

Nice Janitors

Two nice guys who drove me to the main road checkpoint. Didn't ask for money like almost everyone in Dahab and were really happy to take a foreigner.

Two Guys Delivering Something

Two guys in a pick up truck, one of whom spoke a little English, which combined with my poor Arabic worked great. A policeman at a checkpoint actually hitched them for me, which was awesome as I'd only waited about 5 minutes and they were going directly to Taba. Was a little reluctant to add this trip since they did ask for money at the end of the ride and I gave them about… (read on in Trip)

Cops Detain Me and Hitch My Last Egyptian Ride

The police were pretty agitated to see a foreigner in a regular Egyptians' car – only taxis are allowed to take foreigners, although Egyptians can hitch just fine… They were also pretty pissed off at me, saying "no money, no money" before I had a chance to explain myself. Was stuck at the checkpoint for 2 hrs (with them not allowing me to leave on foot, even though Taba was… (read on in Trip)

First ride in Egypt!

After a fairly short wait, I hitched my first ride in Egypt! The guy was nice and we were able to communicate using my limited Arabic and google translate. Talked about prices in Egypt and back home. The guy was transporting natural gas and all the cops knew him, so no one bothered us at the checkpoints. I considered going via St. Catherine, but eventually decided against it.

Bedouin guy + Cops half-hitch a bus to Cairo

Really nice bedouin guy, who spoke good German as it turned out hed lived in Switzerland for a while and was even a citizen. Helped me buy a sim card, which was perfect as I was able to let my hosts in Cairo know that I was on my way. We talked a lot about morals and about Bedouin life. He was going deep into the Sinai hills and I wouldve loved to visit his village. But I had… (read on in Trip)

The Traveling American

Approached at a gas station and was happy to take me (my American accent might've helped me out). Worked as a machine repairman and had traveled in and out of the US every week for 40 years! He'd just come from Massachusetts and was going to Northern England to repair a machine and then he was off to Singapore. Talked a lot about travels and about how he used to live in Japan…. (read on in Trip)

Two Afghanis

Two Afghanis on their way from Sheffield to Manchester to pick up a friend from the airport. Had a really interesting conversation about Afghanistan, the world, politics, UK, food and just about everything else. Another great ride through the Peak District.

The Traveling Irishman

Guy in a Jaguar (!) off to Luton Airport. Really Irish and positive. Worked as a floor construction contractor.

Girl Off to Church in MK

Nice black girl going to church in Milton Keynes. Her sister also studied at UCL. Seemed a little tense.

Guy Who Used to Work in Spain

Drove in a truck and was delivering some electrical components. Had two deliveries but said he was going all the way to Rava Ruska, so I didn't mind. Said he used to live in Spain for 10 years and had to work 6am to 10pm every day during those 10 years.

Babushka Going to the Border

Older guy driving a babushka to the border where she'd cross with someone else (probably to make money by increasing the driver's duty free allowance). The driver didn't speak (probably had a stroke), but seemed really excited when I told them I was from Slovakia.

Gastarbeiters Going to Poland

Approached a couple of people standing in line, but all declined, even after I explained my "cool" hitching adventures :P Eventually found a minibus with 3 Ukrainians going to Poland to work. They were going somewhere near Warsaw, which was unclear almost until the very end of the ride. Waited 3:43 hrs at the border, which they said was actually quite good (as always, Poles… (read on in Trip)